Sunday, 1 May 2016

Schloss Neuschwanstein and TSV 1860 München

I finally ticked going to Schloss Neuschwanstein off my bucket list.

It's only been on my list, since, well, I saw a picture of it on Pinterest many years ago... haha.

I knew I wanted to go but it's actually not the easiest place to get to, as it's kind of in the middle of nowhere, and it doesn't even make it any easier being in Germany as opposed to visiting from England.

But I finally got to go!! And it was just as beautiful as anticipated...

After Schloss Dhaun last week, we headed back to Munich with a friend of ours who's doing his year abroad in Munich. The bus ride was horrendously long but at least there was wifi so I could get some stuff done. After we arrived, we went to Studentenstadt to drop Tom's stuff off at Rob's accommodation and mine at Rob's girlfriend Naomi's before heading to get some well needed food and a drink.

On Saturday, we got up bright and early (well, around 9am) to catch the train to the castle. The journey itself is not as bad as I thought it was from Munich, it's a direct train to Füssen (which takes 2 hours) and then a short bus to Hohenschwangau. The bus ticket was included in our train ticket (a group day one for Bavaria called the Bayern Ticket) and every single person on that train will be headed for the busses (there was 4 lined up waiting for the train to arrive) so you can just follow the crowd. Once in Hohenschwangau, you will instantly be able to see the castle looking down from the hills onto the little romantic fairytale-esque village of Hohenschwangau.

The Neuschwanstein castle is so often photographed that you may not realise that there's actually 2 castles there. On the hills opposite stands Hohenschwangau castle, the original castle built by Ludwig's father. King Ludwig II later built Neuschwanstein castle as a private refuge, it wasn't actually completed before his death. Both of the castles have a very different feel about them and the contrast of the two is super interesting.

The castles themselves are 100% worth seeing if you ever find yourself in South Germany or Austria, but it's not just the castles that are stunning. They are surrounded by the Alps, lakes, and rolling countryside, as well as the small Germanic village lying between them. It's beyond beautiful, and the whole scenery is just so picturesque, regardless of which season you visit. It would be just as gorgeous in sun as it would in snow, and even blew us away on such a grey, rainy day.

On the Sunday we went to the Allianz arena to watch a football game which was very exciting. Rob had booked us and a few others tickets to watch München TSV 1860 play Eintracht Braunschweig at home. I haven't been to a football game in a long, long time but it was super fun. We were standing in 1860 end behind the goal with some rather passionate fans.

Final score? 1-0 to 1860 München with a last minute goal in the home end. Very exciting! And an awesome end to such a great weekend.

Have you ever been to Schloss Neuschwanstein? Or is it on your bucket list too?